Tompkins County Courts

Commissioner of Jurors

General Information

U.S. District Court Policy
In accordance with the Jury Plan for the Northern District of New York, jurors are exempted from serving in federal court for a period of two years if they have served previously in another court. In order to claim this exemption, the Northern District of New York requires that the person was actually selected as a juror on a case that reached a verdict. Simply going in for jury selection does NOT meet the requirement for this exemption.

Jury Sequestration
Sequestration of jurors is no longer mandatory. Under the law, the trial judge will be authorized to decide, in all criminal cases, whether a deliberating jury should be sequestered or permitted to separate. It will be decided, case by case, whether a jury will be allowed to separate or be sequestered.